Richter 'vindicated' by Leno ratings slip

Speaking to the New York Post, Richter said that he was happy to hear that Leno's viewership had dropped below O'Brien's following the latter's removal from The Tonight Show on NBC.

"I don't want to wish ill will on anybody, but I would be lying to you if I said it didn't feel a little bit fun to hear that - that there wasn't some kind of feeling of reward in that," Richter explained.

He added: "It is kind of vindicating in a way. I think that one of the reasons we ended up leaving was because of their impatience with us.

"And I think that was a mistake on their part. So I had a hunch about that, and it is nice to have that hunch seemingly proven true."

Leno took over from O'Brien as the host of The Tonight Show in May, after O'Brien quit the network earlier this year.

O'Brien and Richter will return to TV with a new show on TBS titled Conan, premiering November 8.